Military
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On January 14, 1941, Col. Clarence Tinker landed a twin-engined B-18 Bomber on the first MacDill Field runway, beginning a new era for Tampa. Soon after, the U.S. entered World War II, and MacDill's pilot training became an important part of the Allies' superiority in the air. Since then, the base and the Tampa community have continued to grow and change along with the times and the needs of the country. Today, the base is home to over fifty mission partners committed to providing critical public service throughout the United States and the world. Colonel Leslie MacDill was an aviation pioneer, a World War I veteran, and a distinguished member of the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1938, while helping prepare the Corps to expand its number of bases in case of war, he was killed in a plane crash near Washington, D.C. In 1940, the Army honored him by naming Tampa's not yet completed Southeast Air Base MacDill Field.
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Tampa, Florida · United States
